I love comedy figure drawing models who slouch. A good sloucher, like the one above, suggests a story.
She could be the sultry but bored girl of the lurid 50s paperbacks...or she could be a sweet and innocent college student who can't figure out why men are always acting strange around her.
Here's (above) another good sloucher. I'd team her up with a Mr. Meek-type.
Imagine her casting an angry, brooding look at him while he cheerfully vacuums in the foreground.
The best funny slouchers are usually models with good poise. It takes skill to be a good sloucher, even when you're portraying someone with a lack of skill.
For comedy modeling I usually prefer draped models but for adults who are this skilled I'll make an exception.
The best models parody slouching...they make a cartoon of it. You don't want real slouching...that's depressing.
You'd think kids would be good slouch models, but most of them aren't. In this pose (above) the kid suggests no story, projects no personality. It's worth repeating...it's not enough to slouch, you have to be an interesting person who slouches.
Ah, now we've got something. This kid (above) is a mischievous sloucher. She has a secret that she won't tell. A story is implied.
Haw! Take an interesting kid sloucher...draped, of course... and put her on oversize furniture and you have a terrific combination.
This model (above) isn't old, but it's fun to imagine an old model taking a pose like this. I think of him as a grouchy old man in a waiting room. He's sitting next to a bothersome kid who he tries to ignore.
Old people can be good comedy models but they have to have some interesting attribute apart from their age.
My guess is that some of the best old comedy models are actually young people pretending to be old. Theirs is a caricature of the real thing, and that's what comedy is all about.
Can you take one more art school post? I hope so, because there's more to say about this.
I said before that female models are more fun to draw, and that's true, but for comedic drawing you'll need to know how to draw men...different types of men...and that means draped male models. Let's see what iconic types there are to choose from.
Well, there's the intellectual type (above). Bring a sheet for the toga and get a good caricature of the model's face.
Intellectuals are noble and are always lost in thought even when facing hurricane-force winds. Thinking poses are fun to draw.
Such a man always climbs rocks to get the eagle's view. Draw this pose small and add the rock later.
Intellectual types sometimes turn out to be evil, so you'll need a model who can do evil poses. Be creative with the lighting.
In a scenario like this one model can take both poses.
You'll also need models who are slobs. Have a wife-beater t-shirt handy in case the model didn't bring one. An accompanying female model would be nice for this. You could do a take-off of "Street Car Named Desire."
Slobs are fun to draw. It's a law of nature: the more refined and delicate your girlfriend is, the more likely it is that she has the brother from hell...an over-the-top punk rocker.
If your group can afford two models then try a romantic theme...the thrill of the first date.
I picture the girl as an Imogene Coca -type.
Do you dare try this? Yikes!
Could a funny girl model play a guy in some type of sketch? I dunno...maybe. I'd try a skinny female with an oversized, floppy mens suit. I love to draw wrinkles.
You'll need to know how to draw leading men-types. Chick magnets, too.
And heroes, draw heroes, but don't do the Marvel or anime-types...they're too common.
If you need a horse you can always draw it in later.
Muscular models are great, but it's hard to get double duty out of them if you can only afford one model and want to do Mr. Meek in the same session.
Remember, heroes have big jaws!
How do you find models like these? If you're an artist you probably know one or two versatile models who can do most of the things I've described here, and can even bring useful props. Some models like doing stuff like this.
So far we've talked about actors as art school models and dancers as art school models...that leaves only one more category that needs to be covered....
...FUNNY models.
If you're an artist and you're interested in comedy just imagine the giant strides you could make if you had funny models to work from: models who get it, someone who isn't offended if you exaggerate some anatomical flaw.
A good teacher will bring props to class that might heighten the effect: glasses, funny wigs, fake buck teeth, etc.
It would be fun to team up two draped models who have opposite personalities. An overbearing Marie Dressler-type (above) would make a great foil for a Mr. Meek-type (like me, above).
Grouches make great comedy models because they're good at reacting to things. They do great slow burns when someone does something stupid in front of them, and when they finally yell it's massive.
Hero types are fun to draw.
They could stuff their shirts with towels to get a funny physique.
Legs are always funny...even mens' legs...if they're wearing the right pants.
With baggy pants models you could tell a funny story using only leg poses....no part of the model's upper body would be visible.
Skinny legs would also work.
So would sexy legs.
The male model every cartoonist would like to have drawn was Eric Campbell (above), the villain in Chaplin's best shorts.
Sigh! The Campbells of the world are probably hard to find....or are they?
This (above) is what Campbell looked like when he was offscreen... a real nice guy, not at all like the bad guy he played in the films. Maybe you know a nice guy who can be converted into a good villain model.
A draped two model session, male and female, offer great posing possibilities.
They make for great romantic scenarios, too.
Just make sure they're different heights.
Haw! Here's a sketch idea for two models: the guy stumbles on a coin-operated robotic love machine and decides to try it. No, no, no...nothing obscene happens...but the girl's hands caress his head, play with his tie, squirt him with cologne, empty his wallet, etc.
I've already mentioned this but it bears repeating: nothing I've suggested is meant to displace classical figure drawing. The picture above makes an eloquent argument for the classical approach. I just think cartoonists would benefit from both types of drawing session.
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BTW: here's a fascinating animated short about art models. Many, many thanks to Kelly Toons for the link!!!!!!!!!
